Hope Solo is going to have to play better than she did today for the US to medal

agreed. they played well their first two games & even though Sweden hasn't looked good in group play, I wouldn't take them lightly. Then there's the possible match-up with Brazil in the semis. Right now I see a Brazil vs. Canada final.

Ugh. While the US got the outcome that their play deserved, I hate it when the style of play that Sweden used is rewarded. Teams that load up on defense like that are boring as hell to watch. I hate that in hockey and I hate it in soccer.

I also think we played a bunch of cowards. The best team did not win today.

Hope Solo's whining is the 2016 equivalent of the 2012 Olympics' "McKayla Is Not Impressed!" meme.

Other than that meme took on a life of itself outside of what really happened. McKayla never said nor did anything to warrant that interpretation of the face she made. Solo's comments were just classless garbage.

While I agree that the style of play that Sweden chose to go with is terrible as it is boring as hell to watch, and I guess in a way could be labeled "cowardly", the Americans have no one to blame for the loss but themselves. Not to mention before throwing shade on another team, perhaps she should remember that the Americans scored the equalizer while a Swedish player was laying on the ground injured.

Not to mention before throwing shade on another team, perhaps she should remember that the Americans scored the equalizer while a Swedish player was laying on the ground injured.

And that Sweden scored a perfectly good goal in extra time that would've won the game anyway, disallowed for a supposed offside that wasn't even close. If 'parking the bus' in front of your own goal, hoping to snatch the occasional chance on the break, is your best chance of winning, then that's what the coach has to set their team up to do.

Solo really is a detestable human being.

Brazil-Australia heading into extra time right now, if anyone wants to see the home nation go through the same agony the US went through earlier.

That Brazil-Australia match last night was fantastic. So many chances for Brazil(19 corner kicks + 10 shots on goal) & they just couldn't score. Then the PKs!!! Marta's shot gets blocked & I'm thinking it's over, then Barbara saves Brazil! Brazil should easily take out Sweden & head to the gold medal match.

You keep saying things like this. Weren't the quarter-finals an illustration that nothing's coming easily in this tournament?

USA lost to a bad Sweden team. They played terrible soccer. If they had played up to their full potential they would have won. Brazil is the same. On paper, Brazil should easily win. The Swedish defensive isn't anything close to what Australia's is, so Brazil should be able to capitalize on this.

"I could not be the player I am without being the person I am, even when I haven’t made the best choices or said the right things. My entire career, I have only wanted the best for this team, for the players and the women’s game and I will continue to pursue these causes with the same unrelenting passion with which I play the game."

Interesting approach.

Quote:

Rich Nichols, the executive director of the players’ union, called the sanctions by U.S. Soccer “excessive, unprecedented, disproportionate and a violation of Ms. Solo’s First Amendment rights,” in a statement to Sports Illustrated. He vowed to appeal the punishment.

Quote:

“We also question whether this action would have ever been taken against a male player or coach, who, in the heated moments after a frustrating defeat questioned the tactics of the opposing team,” Nichols said in the statement.

This wasn't just about the Sweden thing. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. This is about the mouth, and about the DV, and about everything else she's ever done to make herself and US Soccer look bad.

A year ago it didn't matter to them in the slightest. They blew it off with Jill Ellis saying about the domestic violence on the eve of the World Cup "“I’ll be honest, we’ve moved on. She’s been a fantastic player and teammate. None of that has even resonated with us, and I’m sure many of the players aren’t aware of it.”

And they wrote a long letter full of legalese and excuses to a Senator on why they were doing nothing.

But hey, they needed her for the World Cup. This year they needed her for the Olympics.

Her misfortune is that they don't need her now, no big competitions. And she let through a couple goals and they lost at the Olympics, so her luster is diminished. How nice of her to provide them a trivial excuse now and a chance to cover their ass by finally doing what they should have done a long time ago.

US Soccer's reaction from the beginning has been pathetic.

It's like an NFL team allowing a star player to play in a Super Bowl after beating up his wife and then suspending him from Spring drills for criticizing the instant replay official and pretending that makes it OK.

Is the USNT for soccer supported by the US Government? If not, how exactly were her 1st Amendment rights violated? The 1st Amendment doesn't give people the right to be jackasses without consequences. All it means is that the Government can't be the administrator of those consequences (with quite a few exceptions where they can be).